Drake, Carl Wilson
Air Force Major

Carl Wilson Drake from Roseville, Ohio, Mushingum county. Their last known residence was in Roseville.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, June 18, 1970
Death details: 

On June 18, 1970, an F-4E Phantom II (tail number 67-0297, call sign “Gunfighter 21”) with a crew of two participated in a two-aircraft interdiction mission against enemy targets in Cratie Province, Cambodia. Both aircraft bombed and strafed the target, but instead of pulling out of its strafing run, “Gunfighter 21” crashed in the vicinity of (GC) XV 227 681, completely disintegrating upon impact. The crew of the second aircraft could not establish radio contact with the crew of “Gunfighter 21,” and they saw no parachutes and detected no beepers. The two crew members were believed to have been in the aircraft at the time of impact.

Major Carl Wilson Drake, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Ohio, served with the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was the navigator aboard the Phantom when it crashed, and his remains could not be recovered. Today, Major Drake is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency